Rice may trigger more-severe reactions in infants than milk

Study Watch

November 8, 2008

Rice, often given to babies as a first solid food, can cause more frequent and more severe allergic reactions in infants than soy or cow's milk, Australian scientists found in a study.

Rice, generally considered a low-allergen cereal that settles the stomach, triggered food-protein-induced enterocolitis syndrome in more infants than either cow or soy milk and resulted in treatment with an intravenous drip more frequently, according to a review over 16 years of 31 infant-allergy cases at Sydney's The Children's Hospital at Westmead.

Previous studies have identified cow or soy milk as the most common causes of the disorder, which is characterized by diarrhea and vomiting. The research, published in the online edition of Archives of Disease in Childhood, may help doctors identify cases of the syndrome earlier, Andrew Kemp and colleagues at the hospital's department of allergy and immunology wrote. Children with FPIES are often mistakenly diagnosed with blood poisoning or a problem requiring emergency surgery, the scientists said.

The researchers weren't able to explain why their study identified rice as the most common cause of the disorder. They speculated, however, that increased consumption may be a contributing factor. Australians consumed about 24 pounds a person in 2004 compared with 11 pounds in 1994, the scientists said.

Going for the rebound puts you at highest risk for injury

The easiest way to get hurt in a basketball game is to go for a rebound.

That is the conclusion of researchers who looked at injury rates for two years at 100 high schools across the country.

Rebounds, the researchers found, accounted for one-quarter of the injuries. After that came general play and defending, with guards most likely to be hurt.

The study, appearing online in The American Journal of Sports Medicine, was done by researchers from Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio. The lead author is Laurel A. Borowski of Ohio State University.

Collisions cause the most injuries, but players also got hurt jumping and landing, and being stepped on, fallen on or kicked.

The study found that the ankle and foot suffered most, with 40 percent of the injuries to that area, especially ligament strains.

Kicking the smoking habit may ease arthritis symptoms

People who suffer from rheumatoid arthritis may see an improvement in their condition if they quit smoking, a new study has found.

The study, described as preliminary, appears to offer the first evidence that giving up cigarettes may help arthritis patients, the researchers say. The study was presented at a recent conference of the American College of Rheumatology.

"That's just one more reason to encourage them to quit smoking," said the lead author, Dr. Mark C. Fisher of the New York University Medical Center.

The study looked at more than 14,000 people with rheumatoid arthritis and divided them into three groups: nonsmokers, smokers and former smokers. When the study began, 1,851 patients were active smokers, but a fifth managed to stop smoking.

Those who did, Fisher said, saw a significant improvement in their symptoms.